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About Merrill Edge Self-Directed
You'll get access to BofA Global Research, flexible withdrawals, goal-building investing strategies, and easy transfers. You can invest in commission-free stocks, ETFs, and options. You can also invest in mutual funds, fixed-income investments, and bonds.
Or you can open a
Merrill does offer one-on-one advising with expert financial advisors. The initial consultation is complimentary, but you'll need at least $20,000 in your account to add online advisor access.
Is Merrill Edge Right for You?
In general, Merrill Edge is best for experienced investors wanting to actively manage their investment portfolios and pick and choose their own trades. Merrill Edge Self-Directed trading is a low-cost option to buy and sell stocks, ETFs, options, and other assets.
Its socially responsible portfolios could be a great fit for investors looking to positively impact their environment while generating returns. Also known as impact or sustainable investing, Merrill says this form of investing is also good for those who want to invest in companies with responsible social and environmental practices.
The automated platform, Merrill Guided, is best for passive investors who also have existing BofA bank accounts. But it's pricey compared to other automated investing accounts like
Merrill Edge and Merrill Guided aren't good options for tax-loss harvesting, fractional shares, futures, or cryptocurrencies.
Merill Edge: Overall Rating
| Feature | Insider rating (out of 5) |
| Fees | 4.00 |
| Investment selection | 4.25 |
| Access | 4.25 |
| Ethics | 5.00 |
| Customer service | 5.00 |
| Overall score | 4.45 |
Merrill Edge Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
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Is Merrill Edge Trustworthy?
The BBB considers several factors when rating companies. These include type of business, time in business, customer complaint history, government actions, and licensing issues. The BBB also advises readers not to assume that its ratings guarantee a certain level of reliability or performance within a company.
On September 8, 2023, a financial advisor sued Merrill Lynch — another subsidiary of Bank of America's wealth management division and part of the Merrill brand — based on accusations of sex discrimination and violating the New York Equal Pay Act, as well as the human rights laws for New York City and the state. Merill denies these allegations. The lawsuit is still pending.
On April 3, 2023, the SEC charged Merrill Lynch, claiming the subsidiary failed to disclose fees of foreign exchanges to and from clients' accounts and charging a total of $4 million to Merrill clients. Merrill Lynch agreed to settle the charges by paying over $9.5 million to affected clients.
Ways to Invest with Merrill Edge
Self-Directed Trading Account
A self-directed Merrill Edge account gets you commission-free stocks and ETFs, 24/7 customer support, impact investing options, mobile trading access, access to margin lending, and other investment tools.
Merrill Edge MarketPro is a customized advanced charting tool that provides investors with intuitive screeners, 25 customizable windows for trading, drawing tools, strategy builders, and market insight. With that, Merrill users can use the Ideas Builder tool and explore various investing themes.
Automated Investment Account
The Merrill Guided investing online account is best for beginner investors or for those who don't mind allowing a team of professionals to manage their investments for them. This account has a
Merrill Edge mainly uses a diversified blend of ETFs and mutual funds when building investor portfolios. But you'll run into some other small fees in addition to the
Its socially responsible portfolios could be a great fit for investors looking to positively impact their environment while generating returns. Also known as impact or sustainable investing, Merrill says this form of investing is also good for those who want to invest in companies with responsible social and environmental practices.
Retirement Accounts
Merrill Investing offers tax-advantaged retirement account options, such as traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and rollover IRAs.
The platform also offers small business retirement plans such as a small business 401(k), individual 401(k), SEP IRA, and a SIMPLE IRA. All of these options are available as either a self-direct account or a Merrill Guided automated account (same minimum requirements and fees apply). If you reach the $20,000 minimum, you can access a one-on-one human advisor access for advice and guidance on retirement investing.
A Merrill retirement account gets you access to various retirement tools including a personal retirement calculator, a retirement account selector, a Roth IRA conversion calculator, a 401(k) rollover calculator, and an RMD calculator.
Education Savings Accounts
You can save for a beneficiary's future education expenses with either a state-sponsored, tax-advantaged 529 plan or a more flexible custodial UGMA/UTMA account through Merrill Invest.
With a 529 plan, investors can benefit from tax-deferred growth on contributions, tax-free withdrawals on qualified expenses down the line, and additional Merrill Edge or Merrill Guided investing features. An UGMA/UTMA custodial account, on the other hand, is a taxable account that can be managed by either you or a Merrill professional.
Merrill Investing offers a college planning calculator to estimate how much you need to save for tuition, school supplies, and similar qualifying expenses.
Investment Options
Merrill Edge offers stocks, bonds, options, mutual funds, fixed-income investments, and bonds. With a Merrill Guided Investing account, you'll get access to ETFs and mutual funds.
Merrill Edge doesn't offer crypto trading, fractional shares, or futures.
Preferred Rewards Benefits
Merrill's Preferred Rewards program gives both Merrill Investing and Bank of America account users benefits for reaching certain investment balances (learn more here). There isn't a fee to join the program. You'll need an active Bank of America checking account.
The program has three tiers:
- Gold: You'll receive a 0.05% discount on Merrill Guided Investing if you've got a three-month combined average daily balance between $20,000 and $50,000.
- Platinum: A three-month combined average daily balance between $50,000 and $100,000 will get you a 0.10% discount at this tier.
- Platinum Honors: Balances between $100,000 to $1 million give you a 0.15% discount.
- Diamond: A three-month combined average daily balance between $1 million and $10 million will get you a 0.15% discount.
Account Setup and User Interface
When you're first setting up the account, Merrill Edge gives you various investing goals to choose from. These help the automated advisor choose an appropriate asset allocation for you.
Merrill Edge
The goals include:
- Retirement
- General investing
- Home
- Education
- Family support
- Travel
- Special occasion
- Other large purchase
You'll also need to determine which risk level you're comfortable with. The brokerage uses one of the following five "target asset allocation" categories when creating your portfolio: Conservative, moderately conservative, moderate, moderately aggressive, and aggressive.
Merrill Edge Fees
A self-directed brokerage account with
Merrill Guided Investing has a
Merrill Guided Investing is currently offering a $0 program fee offer during the first six months after your enrollment date. Keep in mind you'll still have to meet the minimum balance requirement.
Merrill Edge Investing — Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Merrill Edge legit?
Yes, Merrill Edge is a legitimate online brokerage through Bank of America after Merrill Lynch merged with BofA.
What is the difference between Merrill Lynch and Merrill Edge?
Merrill Lynch is a wealth management and financial services platform that merged with Bank of America in 2021. Merrill Edge is the broker's online investing and stock trading platform. Merrill Edge and Merrill Lynch are both subsidiaries of Bank of America.
Is Merrill Edge good for beginners?
Merrill Edge may be good for beginners since it is a low-cost platform with no minimum requirement. It has multiple investment options and account options available. But you need to meet a high
What is Merrill Guided Investing?
Merrill Guided Investing is Merrill Edge's automated investing account. The robo-advisor invests your money into a portfolio of mutual funds and ETFs once you provide information on things like your risk tolerance, investing goals, and time horizon.
Does Merrill Guided Investing have a minimum to open an account?
The account has a
Which account types does Merrill Guided Investing support?
Merrill Guided Investing offers individual, joint, education accounts, and custodial accounts, and it supports traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP IRAs, and SIMPLE IRAs.
How much does Merrill Guided Investing cost?
The account has a
How Merrill Edge Compares
Merrill Edge vs. Betterment
Merill Edge charges an annual
Unlike the Merrill Edge Guided Investing account, however, Betterment gives users one-on-one advice from human advisors. It's included in its premium account, but you'll have to pay extra for this option if you have a standard account. In addition, Betterment offers features like tax-loss harvesting.
Merrill Edge vs. Fidelity Go
Both Merrill Guided Investing and
Fidelity Go charges no fees for accounts with less than $25,000. Accounts with over $25,000 are charged a 0.35% annual fee, which still beats Merrill Guided's
Fidelity Go (Fidelity's automated advisor) has lower fees than Merrill Guided, but only users with lower balances can take advantage of the big price cuts. Fidelity Go invests in a portfolio of only mutual funds, whereas Merrill Guided Investing is better for those who want access to both ETFs and mutual funds.
Methodology: How We Reviewed Merrill Edge
We examined Merrill Edge Investing using Personal Finance Insider's rating methodology for investing platforms to compare and examine account types, pricing, investment options, and overall customer experience when reviewing investing platforms. Platforms are given a rating between 0 to 5.
Investment platforms usually offer multiple assets, trading tools, fees, and other resources. Some investing platforms are better for more advanced investors or active investors, while others may better suit beginner investors and passive investors. Merrill Edge was evaluated with a focus on how it performs in each category.